My amazing Dad sent me this today.  It was written by his friend Gerry, a fellow member of REACH, which is a ministry focused on reconciling Rwanda after its devastating civil war in 1994.

Let’s remember that our Hope does not disappoint! 

God is at work in all of us as He moves us forward in this vision for REACH.  I got up early this morning in prayer for each of you and for what is ahead.  I read a meditation from Living The Message by Eugene Peterson and want to share parts of it.  (The underlines are mine.)

“Hope is a response to the future which has its foundation in the promises of God.  It looks to the future as time for the completion of God’s promises.  It refuses to extrapolate either desire or anxiety into the future, but instead believes that God’s promises gives the proper content to it.  But hope is not a doctrine about the future: it is grace cultivated in the present, it is a stance in the present which deals with the future.  As such it is misunderstood if it is valued only in the comfort it brings; as if it should say, “Everything is going to be all right in the future because God is in control of it, therefore relax and be comforted.”  Hope operates differently.  Christian hope alerts us to the possibilities of the future as a field of action, and as a consequence fills the present with energy.”

What do I glean from this today for us?   The underlined phrases spoke to me of the fullness of hope, that it is not a holding pattern but a movement forward based on what God has promised.  Knowing the intended action in the future gives us a boosts up to the energy for it in the present.  And in all of it is “grace cultivated” and we know the Word tells us that His grace is sufficient.

What [we’re seeing now] is to be for us a time of watching God’s promises (that we have known for a long time were coming) now being realized.  Foundationaly we formed as the USA board for such a time as this – now we are on the upsurge with God’s grace there for us!  An exciting time!  Hang on to your hats!  Hang onto the hope!  See His promises coming true!